


Pandemic

by charmed_seconds



Series: A.L.L Series [2]
Category: Charmed
Genre: F/M, Terminal Illiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-27
Updated: 2012-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-17 03:27:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charmed_seconds/pseuds/charmed_seconds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris is now an ER Doctor only two years out of his residency. However, a pandemic is threatening America. When a loved one of Chris's is struck down, he'll do anything to cure them, including hiding his own illness and possibly causing his own death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chris smirked as he sipped his cardboard cup of coffee as he overlooked yesterday's sports section. It was currently three in the morning and the young man had just finally found the time to sit down, have a cup of joe and relax. His feet were up on the desk and his sleeves were rolled up.

"This isn't a beach Doctor,"

Chuckling, Chris smiled at the Head Nurse, "But Grace, you don't want me to suffer now do you? I've been on my feet since the beginning of my shift, have mercy."

Grace snorted, her dark brown eyes narrowing, "Down Doctor, before I swat them off." She threatened

"Hope you don't treat your patients like that," Chris remarked jokingly.

"Only to you Chris," the middle-aged woman responded with a smirk.

"Aw, Gracie thinks I'm special," cooed Chris.

"Yeah, in the mind," snorted another voice from behind him.

Swirling around, Chris glared at a young woman, "Quiet Bee, no one was talking to you,"

Bianca gasped, her hand on her heart, "Grace, do you hear how he speaks to me, why on Earth do I bother dealing with you?"

Grace rolled her eyes before lowering her silver framed glasses, the frames hanging from a jeweled necklace, "You two are adults, start acting like them, hm?"

"I'm only 28, much too young to be mature," Chris retorted.

"Says the guy with the Phd," snorted Bianca, "Which reminds me, Mr. Robertson is wondering if he can get another dose of morphine."

"He's already maxed," Chris responded, "He'll be in surgery within thirty minutes, then he's their problem."

"Thank heavens," Bianca sighed, "I'm getting tired of him asking for a sponge bath."

"What does he think this is? A five-star hotel?" Grace snapped, "I think he needs a reality check. This is the emergency room, not a spa."

Chris laughed, "Tell us how you really feel Grace."

Grace gritted her teeth at the young doctor but was torn from responding when a scratchy voice called for someone to pick up. Turning towards the transmitter, Grace picked up the headphones and held one to one of her ears, "Yes, this is Memorial Hospital."

"GSW to the chest," replied the scratchy voice, "Age 24, female, pulse 100 bpm, B.P 140/60."

Grace nodded and scribbled the information onto a chart, "E.T.A?"

"3 minutes."

Chris sighed and stood, "There goes my break. Bee, go get Trauma 1 ready. Grace, come with me to the ambulance."

Standing, Chris grabbed his stethoscope and looped it around his neck before trotting out towards the ambulance bay, Grace behind trailing shortly behind him. The two of them could hear the sirens of the ambulance once they got outside. Glancing up, Chris sighed as his glasses fogged up slightly "Knew I should've worn my contacts."

Grace smiled as she and Chris pulled on a pair of latex gloves, "I thought you would've learned by now."

"I'm stubborn, what can I say?"

Grace rolled her eyes but the small area was filled with flashing lights as the ambulance rolled in. Instantly, Chris strolled up to the vehicle and opened the door. Reaching up, he helped the paramedic bring down the gurney. A young woman laid strapped to the backboard, her navy blue police uniform stained dark from the gunshot wound in her chest. Chris pressed two fingers to the side of her neck, mentally counting as the paramedic ranted off vitals to Grace. Turning, Chris blinked when he saw his brother – also an officer – sitting in the ambulance.

_I'm fine,_ came the telepathic answer,  _She's a newbie, she was learning under Mark._

Chris sighed, but nodded.  _I'll take care of her._ "Let's get her to Trauma 1."

He, along with Grace and the paramedic, wheeled the wounded officer to the room. Chris knew Wyatt was following, but ignored it. Wyatt was the cop, his job was done. Chris was the doctor, his was just beginning. Sighing, Chris stood on the left side of the hospital bed, Grace and Bianca on the other side. "On the count of three," He instructed, "One. Two. Three!" in one clean motion, they moved her from the gurney to the bed.

"Cut off the shirt and take off the Kevlar," Chris ordered, "Get me some O neg." Bianca nodded and rushed out of the room while Grace took care of the clothing and the bulletproof vest.

Chris bent over and took out his flashlight pen, flashing it, he watched the pupils dilate before moving onto the other one. Quickly putting it back into his lab coat, he glanced at the wound. "Get me some saline," he said, holding his hand.

Getting a small squeeze bottle, he squeezed the liquid onto it, cleaning some of the blood away. It was a clean hole, it bleeding profusely. "We need to turn her, we need to see if there's an exit wound," Chris muttered, "Grace, put pressure on the wound, she's losing too much blood."

The head nurse nodded, and pressed her hands onto the wound with gauze as Chris gently eased the woman up to her side. "No exit wound," Chris stated, "We need to stabilize her then send her up to surgery,"

Using his shoulder, he pressed the small earpiece in his right ear. "328," he stated, "Squeeze the O neg, she's losing too much blood."

Bianca nodded and squeezed the plastic bag, forcing the blood to enter the wounded cop faster. "Yes?" a static voice echoed in Chris's ear.

"We have a GSW, woman, condition red," Chris stated, "blood pressure dropping, please tell me you have a room open Alan,"

"We can have one open in ten minutes, think you can handle that?" The surgeon responded.

"Make it five," Chris gritted his teeth, applying more pressure to the wound, "Keep the O neg coming. She's roughly 5'6, about 140 pounds. Bullet still in the body, and if you don't hurry your ass up I might have to take it out and suture her up myself."

"Calm down Halliwell, we're cleaning as fast as we can."

"Yeah, well, I have a woman bleeding out underneath my hands, so I suggest you hurry up," snapped Chris.

Suddenly, a loud beep echoed throughout the room. "Shit," swore Chris, as he fisted his hands together and started CPR, "In case you can't hear, her heart stopped, so hurry your little surgical asses up and clean that room up 'cause we're on our way up."

"The room's not ready Halliwell! She won't be any better off in the hallway!" shouted Alan.

"Then what use are you!" Chris shouted back before using his shoulder to hang up, "That's it. Grace, get me forceps and sutures. If the surgeon won't come down here and do his job, I'll do it."

Grace chuckled, "Alan's gonna get pissed"

"He can take my right foot and shove it" snapped Chris, "Shit, we're gonna need the crash cart."

Grace quickly wheeled over the small white cart. "Charge to 350," Chris ordered, continuing pushing his fisted hands into the woman's sternum.

"Ready," Grace said.

Twisting, Chris grabbed the pedals as Bianca put on two rubber rectangles onto the woman's chest to protect the skin. "Clear!" shout Chris, pressing the buttons on the pedals, sending a shock throughout the body.

"Resuming CPR," Bianca stated as the line continued to go flat.

"400,"

"Ready."

"Clear!"

Shock.

Beep. Beep.

Chris let out a breath of relief, "Okay, where's the kit?"

"Over here," Bianca stated, wheeling over a small silver tray filled with numerous instruments.

Chris sighed. Using a scalpel, he slit the skin to open the wound wider so he could get a clear look into the wound. Buried deeply within muscle, Chris could see the end of a bullet. "Found it," he said, putting the scalpel aside, he picked up the forceps and gently eased into the wound. Grasping the butt end of the projectile, Chris eased it out. "Make sure you have blood ready, I don't know if this is gonna gush or not,"

"Bullet out," Chris said, putting the 9mm bullet onto the tray.

Hearing a dull ring in his ear, Chris pressed the earpiece with his shoulder, "Busy right now."

"What the hell did you do Halliwell?"

"Just save a patient's life," snapped Chris, "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to suture her up so then I can send her up to you so you can clean it up in there,"

"Damn it Halliwell,"

Chris glanced over his shoulder when he saw Alan, his long, black hair tried in a haphazard ponytail and his coal eyes glaring at him, "About time you got here."

"You know you're not a surgeon Halliwell!"

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have to act like one if you actually got your ass out of your head and did your job," growled Chris and he lightly sutured up the wound, "There, you can take her up now. Oh, and your welcome, asshole."

Chris pushed by the guy, peeling off his gloves as he did. He walked towards a small group of police officers within the triage center, throwing the bloody gloves on the way. He smiled when all six heads snapped up when the double door slapped shut. "She's gonna be fine," Chris answered, holding a hand up, "She's heading up to surgery right now to repair the muscle, but the bullet it out and she should be fine."

Mark let out a deep breath, "Thanks Chris,"

Chris smiled at the half-manicore man, "No problem bro, it's my job. Which, come on, I'll fix up that gash on your temple."

Mark smiled sheepishly and stood and followed Chris to the small area, six beds lining a L-section of the room for everyday small 'emergencies'. "Sit," Chris ordered as he pulled on a pair of gloves, "So, need to vent?"

"It was just a basic stop," Mark sighed, "One moment the guy taking the speeding ticket, the next, Alyssa has a gunshot wound to the chest."

"How was Wy there?" Chris inquired, lightly pressing a piece of damp gauze to the gash.

"He was our backup,"

Chris nodded, "How long has she been on the force?"

"A few weeks"

"Hm," Chris hummed

Mark glanced up at his puesdo-brother, "You okay?"

Chris smirked, "You're the patient, I'm supposed to ask that."

Rolling his eyes, Mark looked at the slightly younger man, "Answer the question Chris or I'll sick your actual brother on you."

"I'm fine Mark, a bit tired, but that could be because I've been here since noon,"

"A double?"

"Liz called in sick, so I got called in," Chris answered as he applied a dry piece of gauze to the gash, "With that stupid pandemic scare, everyone is coming in for the slightest thing."

Mark sighed, "You know it's gonna hit eventually,"

"Yes, I am the doctor," Chris snorted, "I know all about the little disease."

"You would've been safer as an oncologist," muttered Mark.

"You sound like Wy and Mom," Chris sighed, "It was too boring and depressing. Kept reminding me that I had cancer at one point, I moved on, and come on, with my life, I just thrive in stressful situations."

Mark snorted, "Just don't kill yourself Firestarter,"

Chris grinned, "You too. You're the one out there. I don't have to wear a bulletproof vest to work"

Mark stuck his tongue out at the smirking brunette. Chris rolled his eyes and smacked the back of the half-manicore's head, the dark brunet wincing. "Go home, rest. Come back in the morning and I'm sure you'll be able to see Alyssa."

Mark nodded, "What time do you get off?"

"Six"

"Then go home and get some sleep yourself."

"Yeah, yeah. Go, I banish you from my hospital."

* * *

Sighing, Chris leaned against his locker. It was eight in the morning, a car accident delaying his departure. Opening it, he let out a deep breath when he saw a simple envelope sitting on the top shelf of the locker. Reaching up, he opened it and quickly read over the numbers. Crumbling the paper, he let his head smack into the locker.

A small green post-it note filter to the titled floor. Written on it, were four words:

_I'm sorry. It's back._

 


	2. Chapter 2

With a heavy sigh, Chris eased the Manor's front door shut, making sure to be as quiet as possible. His brother was probably still sleeping, the blond obviously on the night-shift with the police department. Sara, Wyatt's girlfriend, was most likely sleeping as well, it being only eight-thirty, and he knew Bianca was snoozing since she just got home an hour and half ago.

Throwing his keys into a small bowl on the end table, Chris frowned when he saw the message light flashing. Pressing play, Chris started to slide his shoes off as it played, " _One unheard message,"_ the monotone voice stated, " _June 9th, 2032. Hi Peanut!"_  Chris chuckled softly. Even at twenty-eight, his mother still called him his childhood nickname, " _I hope you and the others are okay, you're probably all sleeping. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I will be in town on Friday and we hope to see you. I think Phoebe might be tagging along, not sure. Tell Wyatt that I love him and to be careful, and if not, tell Sara to smack him. And you better be taking care of yourself Christopher, just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you can't be sick, don't make me call Bianca on you mister. Well, love you and see you Friday Peanut!"_

Chris chuckled and quickly pressed delete. Throwing his lab coat over the couch, he cracked his neck as he made his way up the stairs warily. He wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed, wrap Bianca in his arms, and fall asleep.

"About time you got home, I was starting to get worried,"

Chris smiled at the red-head, Sara's hands on her hips and her dark blue eyes narrowed on him. "I'm only a few hours late,"

Sara rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. You're just lucky that Wyatt was sleeping or you would have him waiting in the living room for you."

"Wyatt, the second father," snorted Chris.

Sara smiled softly, "Go to bed Chris, you look like you're about to topple over."

"Night Sara,"

"Technically its morning!" she called back from the bathroom with a small chuckle.

Chris shook his head and quickly eased his door open and shut. With a frown, he ran a hand through his shaggy hair before slipping the dark blue scrub top off and chucking it into the laundry bin on the other side of the room. He yawned as he made his way to the bed, sitting down and slipping his socks off before sliding out of his matching scrub pants, leaving him in his black boxers. Sighing, Chris rubbed his eyes and sat down.

Closing his eyes, he laid down, forcing his body to relax.

_A green post-it note._

_I'm sorry._

_It's back._

_Blood._

Chris's eyes snapped open, a near-silent gasp leaving his lips. He glanced down and smiled at Bianca, the girl cuddling into him, her head on his chest. Pulling her close, Chris nuzzled his face into the reddish-brown strands before falling asleep.

* * *

"And sleeping beauty has awaken!"

Chris glared at his older brother, the blond man smirking as he nursed a cup of coffee even though it was well into the afternoon. He smirked when Sara smack the off-duty officer on his chest, the man wincing. "He got home late," Sara growled, "Be nice to him."

"Yeah, be nice to me." Replied Chris, snickering.

"Quiet you," Bianca lightly snapped as she handed her boyfriend a cup of coffee, "Drink your coffee. You're supposed to be at the hospital in a few hours."

Chris groaned, "You had to remind me?"

"Hey, I have to be there too!" replied Bianca.

"And I have to go to work," Wyatt added with a small shrug.

"Yeah, well, you and Mark probably just fool around all night," snorted Chris, "While Bee and I slave away,"

Wyatt rolled his eyes and promptly flicked his brother off before trudging up the stairs. Sara rolled her eyes, "You two are strange."

"Well, they are the Halliwell brothers, what do you expect?" Bianca said with a chuckle, "At least they're not throwing energy balls,"

"We probably don't have the energy to," Chris mumbled, "I'm going to go nab the shower before Wy takes it."

Sara sighed, "Yeah, I need to check the Book anyways."

Chris raised an eyebrow, "Demon?"

"No," Sara quickly answered, "A student asked about a demon, and instead of searching for it in the library while all the kids are cramming for finals, I'm going to see if it in the Book."

Bianca nodded, "What demon?"

Chris rolled his eyes as the two girls began talking about some random demon. "I'm going to go take that shower babe, try not to spend all your time talking about the demon," Chris said, pecking Bianca's temple before walking away.

With a deep breath, Chris began walking up the stairs. Suddenly, he clutched the stair rail; his eyes clenched shut as vertigo swam over him. A few seconds and a small headshake later, Chris resumed climbing the stairs, ignoring the heavy sense in his heart and stomach.

* * *

Chris rubbed his eyes, "I'll prescribe you some penicillin Mr. Marshall, take as directed and your cold should lighten up a bit within a weeks time."

"Thank you Doctor," replied the elderly man.

"No problem," Chris answered with a smile before heading out of the curtained area.

With a sigh, he tossed the chart onto the nurse's table, Grace jerking back as in landed in front of her. "Boy, watch where you're chucking things."

"Sorry Grace,"

"You better say sorry," muttered the African-American nurse, "And what has you in such a fuss?"

Sitting beside the woman, Chris tipped his head back, "All these people coming in with a cough think they have MA6277…they really need to give this disease an easier name."

Grace hummed, "Well, they're scared, and they have every right. It's a disease I wouldn't even wish on my enemies."

"You have enemies Grace, I thought everyone loved you," Chris responded with a smirked.

Grace winked, "Of course they do, I'm me. Anyways, Dr. Anderson told me to give this to you,"

Chris raised an eyebrow but took the envelope. Opening it, Chris sighed when it was a simple calendar with a few dates circled with times written in. He quickly folded it back up and stuck it his pocket, "Thanks Grace."

"Is everything okay dear?"

Chris smiled, "Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

Grace raised an eyebrow, "Because it's you Chris. Trouble hovers around you,"

Chris sighed, "Don't remind me. Anyways, who's next?"

"A Miss. Johnson and Chris…"

"Yeah?"

Grace smiled, "Whatever is wrong, it's gonna be okay."

Chris let out a deep breath as he made his way towards the full triage center, "Yeah, I hope so."

 

"And your back," Chris mused as he stood as his brother and Mark walked into the ER, "Hopefully without someone for me to treat and you just want to treat your little brother to dinner."

"Technically breakfast," Mark replied, "You know since its three in the morning."

Chris sighed, "Don't remind me, but really, why are you here?"

"We have someone in the back seat complaining of pain in his left arm," Wyatt groaned, "We thought we would bring him here, get him checked over before sending to the department."

"I rather have the breakfast," mumbled the young man as he pulled on a pair of gloves, "Come on"

"We're Bianca and Grace?" inquired Wyatt.

"Grace is doing rounds and Bianca went to nab a break while she could," answered Chris, "Can you open the door?"

Wyatt sighed and eased the backdoor of the squad open. "Think you'll cooperate John?"

"Fuck you pig."

"Well, aren't you nice," Chris mused as he knelt, "Now, can you be nice enough to get out of the car and walk to the ER so I can make sure you'll live to the jail cell?"

"Fuck you too."

Chris rolled his eyes, "Sorry, I don't swing that way. So, you going to come or am I just gonna have the officers drive you to the jail without a checkup?"

The man gritted his teeth but began shimming his way down the hard plastic seats and allowed Mark and Wyatt to grab his arms. Chris led the way back into the ER and directed them to an empty bed. Pulling the curtain shut, Chris sat down on the stool and pulled on a pair of sterile gloves. "Do you have any chest pains?"

The man growled, "Yeah, on my right side."

"Hm," Chris mused, "Lie down please."

The prisoner grumbled but did as was request. Standing, Chris put his fingers on the man's right pectoral, "I'm going to order you an EKG, and we'll see what the results are going to be."

"How long is that gonna take?" Mark asked.

Chris smirked, "With enough complaining, fifteen minutes." He stated as he pressed the small button on the earpiece in his right ear, "243," waiting a few minutes, Chris tapped his foot as his call, "Hey, Luke, want to do me a favor?...You want to wheel your fancy EKG machine over to curtain 4 and do an easy, quick test on a person so my brothers can ship him to the jail cell?...thirty minutes? You can do better?... ten? That's much better. Thanks Luke, I owe you a milkshake…yeah, yeah, screw you." Hanging up, Chris turned towards Wyatt and Mark, "Ten minutes, then we'll do the test, then we're done."

"What you don't believe me?" the man barked.

Chris shrugged, "I'm just a doctor. I don't have to believe you; I just believe what the test says. Now calm down so I can take your vitals."

The man grumbled, but leaned back and took a deep breath. Chris rolled his eyes and quickly wrapped the man's tattooed arm with the blood pressure cuff. Putting his stethoscope underneath the navy blue fabric, Chris listened to the man's heartbeat as he added pressure. Next was his breathing and chest before Chris wrapped the stethoscope around his neck, "Well, you sound fine."

"I had pain."

"Hence why we're getting you an EKG, plus I don't feel like being sued." Chris snorted, "Excuse me while I go see why Grace glaring at me."

Walking to the nurse's station, Chris leaned on the desk and raised an eyebrow in question. Grace huffed and crossed her arms, "How many times do I have to shout your name before you answer?"

"Do I look like a dog?"

"Well, you can act like a bitch on most days," Grace quipped back, "Now, as I was saying, we have a man who was involved in a car accident being brought in. Nothing serious, broken arm and possible fractured ankle. The paramedics are going to wheel him in a few moments."

Chris frowned, "I don't act like a bitch,"

Grace snorted, "PMS then? Is that better for you? Either way, I'm going to set up curtain 5 for our incoming."

"Hey Halliwell?"

Turning, Chris smiled when he saw Luke – a sandy blond man – standing with the EKG in his hands, "Curtain 4 right?"

"Yep, think you can do the test alone? I have an accident victim coming in."

"Yeah, but you owe me a milkshake and lunch then," Luke responded.

"If this keeps up, I'll just have to take you out on a date,"

"Aw, Chris, I'm sorry but I have a girlfriend,"

Chris snapped his fingers, "Damn."

"Hey, you have one too," Luke responded with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, forgot,"

Luke shook his head and headed into the curtain area. Chuckling, Chris nodded to the paramedics as they wheeled in a man, his right side bloody. "Curtain 5, and what's with all the blood?"

"Gash from the woman. We patched her up A.T.S" One of the paramedics answered.

Chris nodded, "Alright, on three." He instructed, "One. Two. Three."

Chris sighed, "Cut away the clothing, can't see the arm if he's still clothed."

Grace nodded and began cutting the sweater that the man was wearing as Chris started to take his vitals. He frowned, "His blood pressure is low. Are you sure that all this blood is his wife's?"

"We saw no substantial wounds on him," replied a paramedic.

"He was in an accident, I doubt there's no cuts or scraps on him," muttered Chris, "Grace, snip the pants too, we need to do a check,"

Grace muttered something under her breath but began doing so. Hearing a whisper, Chris turned towards the man, "Hello, do you know where you are?"

"Hos..pital." rasped the man.

"Correct, name?"

"Robert Quinn, where's my wife?"

"She was patched up and left at the scene I'm guessing," Chris answered, "But she's fine. Do you know today's date Mr. Quinn?"

"June 9th,"

"Alright, I'm Doctor Halliwell and this is Nurse Grace, we'll be helping you. Besides your arm and leg, does anything else hurt?"  
"My chest,"

"Grace, order a chest x-ray," Chris ordered as he listened to the lungs again, "Mr. Quinn can you take a deep breath?" Chris frowned, "Increased breaths on the right side, possible collapsed lung."

Chris sighed, "Can we get some morphine too?"

Grace nodded, "I'll get that now, anything else?"

"Saline and bandages please."

"Wow, return from my break and I find a man handcuffed to a bed, and this," Bianca snorted as she walked to stand beside the bed and pull on a pair of gloves, "Hello sir, I'm Bianca and I'm a nurse."

"Hey Bee, can you do me a favor and help me lift him up,"

Bianca nodded and gently, they lifted the balding man up, "He has some scraps on his back, and some debris in them. Oh yeah, just a broken arm and leg,"

"Do..ctor?"

Chris glanced at the man, "Yes?"

"Getting…hard…..to….breath."

Chris swore, "Grace, what was the time that radiology gave you when you called in a chest x-ray?"

"Forty minutes," replied the nurse as she hung up the bag of morphine.

Chris gritted his teeth and quickly dialed radiology on his earphone, "Hey, I need a chest x-ray A.S.A.P. Bee, bag him. No, not thirty minutes, now, I have a possible collapsed lung and I need to know if I need to refill it. If you don't get the transportable down here in ten minutes, I'm wheeling him up there." Hanging up, Chris sighed, "We need to get people off their asses around here."

Bianca snorted, "Right, what fantasy world do you live in?"

"A fantasy one," replied Chris just as the machines started to go off, "Shit. Bee, start compressions while I tube him. Grace, get the crash cart, we might need it."

The nurses quickly changed positions while Chris stood at the head of the bed. Bending the head back, Chris grabbed a plastic tube and a laryngoscope to open the mouth wider to see the vocal cords. Quickly, he slid in the tube and reattached the breathing bag. "Bee, bag. I'll take over,"

Bianca swapped places with her boyfriend as Chris began compressions. "Come on," he said as he watched the irregular heartbeat race across the screen, "If he flat lines, we're gonna need that crash cart. Where the Hell is Grace?"

"Behind you boy, hold your horses," snapped the head nurse.

"Give him a dose of atropine, hopefully that will ease his heart out," Chris instructed.

Grace nodded and quickly grabbed a syringe, "Injecting atropine now."

Chris paused his compressions and watched the screen. Soon, the beats began to even back out. "Okay, now we have another problem on our hands," he muttered, "What the Hell just caused that?"

Grace turned to the paramedics, "Just a broken arm and leg, please. Who taught you, a damn robot? Go back to the streets boys, you've done your jobs, and failed I might add."

"Hey!"

"Don't you dare 'Hey' me mister," snapped Grace, "When you bring in a patient, we would like all the details and some common sense, something you're missing obviously, now shoo. We'll take care of Mr. Quinn, something you failed to do."

Chris chuckled, "Well, I think Mr. Quinn is going to be fine for now. Just watch his vitals, we need that chest X-ray, then he might have to go for surgery."

Bianca nodded, "Luke wants to talk to you as well."

Chris sighed and peeled off his gloves, "No rest for the weary,"

Walking into the curtained area beside Mr. Quinn, Chris looked at Luke, "So?"

"No arrhythmias or abnormal beats," Luke stated.

"Good," Chris remarked, picking up the chart that hung on the end of the bed, "So, Mr. Langdon, you're free to go."

"Thanks bro," Wyatt answered, "And we'll be back to bring you that breakfast,"

Chris chuckled, "Thanks. What time do you and Mark get off?"

"Five, like always," Mark sighed, "Unless we get a call at four-fifty, which always happens,"

"So, its Five, like never," Chris snorted, "And, I'll be lucky if I get out two hours after I'm supposed to be done,"

Wyatt gave his brother a one-armed hugged, "See you in a few hours,"

"Yep. Have fun."

"What the fuck? I had fucking chest pains? You're just gonna let me go?" Shouted the arrested man.

Chris nodded and quickly signed the bottom of the chart, "Yep. Have fun,"

"Fuck you!'

Chris snorted and waved his hand over his shoulder, "Happy to help you too."

* * *

Chris sighed as he splashed water onto his face. He was in the hospital bathroom. The doctor that was supposed to come to relieve him called in sick so he was once again pulling a double. Yawning, Chris dabbed his face with a paper towel before leaning against the wall. He breathed deeply, his hand on his stomach.

"Not now," he moaned before rushing to one of the stalls and falling to his knees.

Once he was done vomiting, he leaned back and rubbed his mouth. "Well, there went Wy's breakfast,"

Standing, Chris went back to the sink and washed his hands and face. Looking up at the mirror, he frowned.

_It's back._

Chris snorted. "No shit."

* * *

Yawning, Chris stumbled into the manor. It was six in the evening, and luckily, someone was found to take his shift so he didn't have to pull three shifts in a row. Wyatt – on his first day off in his rotation of three on, three off – frowned. "About time you got home,"

Chris rolled his eyes and threw his coat onto the peg, ignoring the blood stains that were on the cuff of the sleeves, "Yeah, damn call in's."

"Eat something, then go to bed," Wyatt said, walking to the kitchen.

Chris nodded and followed his brother, rubbing his collarbone gently and grasping the pill bottle in his pocket, praying that his brother didn't realize that the morning shift ended three hours ago.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, I've missed you!"

Chris rolled his eyes as he accepted his mother's third embrace since walking in the door five minutes ago, "Missed you too Mom, but can we at least get your suitcases into the Manor?"

Piper smiled, "Yes, and your father probably wants to come in as well."

"That would be nice," Leo replied from outside of the manor.

Chris laughed and picked up his mother's suitcase while Wyatt led her deeper into the foyer. Quickly, Chris was enveloped in a tight hug with his father and yet another one from Piper. Smirking, Chris hugged his brother, the blond laughing and hugging his little brother as well. "Weirdo," Wyatt said, fondly.

Chris shrugged, "Everyone was hugging, lost track of who I hugged."

Wyatt laughed and ruffled Chris's shaggy hair, "Jeez Chris, shedding?"

Chris chuckled, "Yeah, maybe just a bit,"

Shaking his hand free from the brown strands, Wyatt turned back to his family, "Sorry, the girls went out to do some grocery shopping,"

"And you didn't go with because?" Piper retorted, tapping her foot.

"We're banned," Chris sighed, "Apparently, when we go, the bill gets too expensive,"

Piper laughed, "I can believe that,"

"So, how's New York?"

"Wonderful," Piper answered with a smile, "It's nice and there's something new to do everyday,"

Leo nodded, "Yeah…something new…everything single day."

"You sound like you're having so much fun Dad," Chris snorted.

"Oh yeah,"

Wyatt chuckled, "Mom, you're wearing Dad out,"

Piper waved her hand towards her husband, "Well, then he needs more caffeine in his life."

Chris smiled, "I don't think that's how it works Mom."

"Eh, details," Piper said, setting down on the couch, "So, how is the hospital?"

"Busy, long, grueling," Chris groaned, "Have to be there in a few hours,"

"You have to work tonight?" Leo asked.

Wyatt snorted, "He's always working, me on the other hand, have today off."

"Well, lucky you," Chris grumbled as he settled on the armchair.

Wyatt grinned, to which, Chris flicked him off, ignoring his mother's shout. Sighing, Chris stood up, "I should probably go take a shower so I don't stink up the whole E.R."

"Might be able to get home on time for once," Wyatt shouted.

"Ha! That would be a miracle," Chris snorted as he walked up the stairs.

Once up there, Chris sighed and leaned against the wall, his hand coming to rest on his forehead. "Jesus Christ," he whispered.

Blindly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Jake? Hey, its Chris…It's getting worse."

* * *

Chris sighed as he sank into the computer chair, yawning. Grace frowned but pushed a mug of coffee in front of the young man, "Don't go falling asleep now, it's just the two of us tonight."

Chris rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sucks to know that you're here slaving away and your girlfriend is in bed, sleeping."

Grace smiled, "That's life for you,"

Chris snorted, "And it sucks. Well, might as well do some rounds while we're in some downtime." He said, standing.

He gasped as the world tilted, his hand reaching to grab the back of the chair as his vision tunneled. "Chris?"

She sounded a mile away. "Fuck," he whispered before black.

* * *

"He's coming to,"

"Ugh, lights down,"

Once the lights dimmed, Chris eased his eyes open. "Wow, did someone die?"

Bianca frowned and lightly slapped his arm, "We're worried about you,"

Sitting up, Chris rubbed his forehead, "How long was I out?"

"A good four hours," Wyatt responded, "So, Mr. Doctor, why you faint?"

"I've probably been overworking myself," Chris snorted, "Haven't had a day off in a good three months."

"That's changes Doctor Halliwell,"

Chris glanced up, "Oh Liz, decided to show up to work, I'm proud of you."

The blond doctor frowned, "You have the next two days off on order from the Chief. Have fun on your days off Halliwell."

"Thanks Liz, fuck you too!" Chris shouted as she departed.

"She never liked you," Bianca mumbled.

"I wouldn't be surprise if she didn't put poison in my saline," he said, looking up at the IV, "Want to disconnect me, please?"

Bianca nodded and grabbed a piece of gauze from a nearby tray, "You know, your mother and father are probably worried out of their mind,"

"Why didn't they come?" Chris inquiring, wincing slightly as Bianca slid the needle out of his forearm.

Wyatt shrugged, "They figured you just passed out and already woken up when Grace called."

Chris sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, "Better get home then before Mom comes tearing down the hospital."

Wyatt nodded and instinctively came and stood beside his brother. Chris smiled, "I'm fine Wy,"

Snorting, Wyatt wrapped an arm around Chris's waist and helped the weak man out of the hospital. Wyatt stared straight ahead as Bianca filled out the last of Chris's discharge papers. "You know you're not going to get by on that excuse forever,"

Chris blinked, "What?"

"I'm not stupid Chris," Wyatt sighed, "Over-working didn't cause this. You did more during Med School. Plus, I'm your brother, I know when you're lying."

Chris sighed, "I'm fine Wy,"

Wyatt rolled his eyes, "Funny. I don't believe that."

* * *

Chris blinked as he saw Wyatt rub his chest for the third time in the span of fifteen minutes. It was something that the brunette was noticing for the past for days. It was nothing special, and no one save him picked up on the change of behavior, but he knew something was different about his brother. The two of them have always been in sync. Sighing, Chris rested his chin on the palm of his hand; it was probably how Wyatt knew something was up with him.

Chris frowned. He thought he was don-

"Wyatt!"

Snapping his head around, Chris watched in horror as his brother tumbled out of the chair, convulsing. "Bianca, hold his head," Chris ordered as he pulled out his cell phone, "Hello, this is Doctor Halliwell from Memorial Hospital. I need an ambulance to 1329 Prescott Street. I have a male, 6'2, roughly 178 pounds. He's currently having convulsions and has possible head trauma from falling to the ground."

Chris quickly placed his phone back in his pocket, "Dad, grab his legs," he ordered as he grabbed his brother's arms, "Mom, go grab a towel, quickly."

Soon, the seizure stopped. Leaning forward, Chris held his ear close to his brother's mouth and nose, "Still breathing," he whispered before holding his fingers to Wyatt's neck, "Pulse, quick, but falling back to hopefully normal."

Bianca nodded, "Where's the ambulance?"

"Probably a few more minutes," Chris whispered as he rubbed his forehead. Great, first he's sick, and now his brother.

Problem is, Chris knew what he had.

But he had no idea what Wyatt had.

* * *

Chris sighed and pulled a lab coat. "Halliwell, you're supposed to be off,"

Raising an eyebrow, Chris looked at Liz, the blond sneering. "My brother is here, I'm gonna treat him."

"That's a conflict of interest."

"I'm ninety percent sure of what he has," Chris growled, "And if so, then we need to keep it contained. I already have Bee and my family on the medicine, you should take it too."

Liz jerked back, "You don't think."

Chris sighed, "Nearly positive. I have Jake doing the blood work right now, but the symptoms match up. Therefore, I'm putting him on the medicine right now; stop the destruction while I can."

Liz nodded, "Fine. But if the Chief finds out, I didn't see you."

Rolling his eyes, Chris head over to the quarantine room that Wyatt was placed in. "Of course," snorted the young man as he entered the sterile section, the door sealing shut behind him tightly.

He winced as gusts of air hit him before he washed his hands thoroughly and pulled on a plastic body apron, a pair of gloves, and a mask. "Hey Wy,"

Wyatt glanced up at his baby brother, "So I have it?"

Chris winced, "Pretty positive, but we caught it early so it should be fine. I'm more worried about your heart and brain after the seizure."

Wyatt held his head, "I can't believe I had a seizure,"

Chris laughed, "Oh, and you can believe you have a possible deadly disease."

Wyatt stuck his tongue out as Chris stuck a syringe into the IV bag, the clear saline quickly turning into a dark blue, "Think of it this way Wy, you're the first one. You're famous."

"Wow, thanks Chris. You can make anything optimistic."

Chris shrugged, "It's my job what can I say?"

Laughing, Wyatt looked up at the bag, "So, that's supposed to save me?"

"Three rounds of it and the disease should be cleared from your body," Chris explained, "So, you'll be here for about a week."

Wyatt sighed, "Fun."

"Hey, you should be happy, you get to be treated by your brother,"

Chris blinked in confusion when sorrowful blue eyes turned towards him. "It's back isn't it?"

"What?"

Wyatt frowned, "Don't lie Chris. It's back, I know it."

Chris looked at his brother's nervous, fidgeting hands. Gently, he took the slightly larger one into his own. Wyatt was always larger than Chris, but he figured it was a good thing considering it was the blond that was always protecting the younger man. Glancing up, Chris tried to smile at his brother, the blue eyes welling up with tears, "Just don't tell Mom and Dad, okay?"

Wyatt looked at his brother in horror, "No,"

Chris shrugged sadly. "How long?" Wyatt asked.

"A few weeks," Chris mumbled, "Got the official diagnose a week ago,"

Wyatt looked at his baby brother and quickly wrapped his brother in his arms. There, Chris closed his eyes and allowed himself to weep for the first time since he got the words that haunted him. Printed on a single sheet of paper, numbers and various other medical words; however, Chris only honed in on one line.

**Diagnosis : Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.**

Chris clutched his brother tighter. Once again, a war was waging in his body…

And he knew, another one would be coming.

Only, this time, the soldiers were on the side of the Leukemia.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Wyatt sighed as he watch his brother once again go through the motions of sanitizing himself before getting all geared up to visit him. Briefly, he looked out the Plexiglas walls, and waved at his mother, the woman smiling sadly at him. He rolled his eyes. He was being cured. Glancing at his brother, he frowned.

"Hey Wy,"

"Hey," Wyatt whispered, "How you feeling?"

Chris peered at him through his bangs as he filled a syringe full of a dark red liquid, "Alive. Now, give me your arm,"

With a deep exhale, Wyatt bared his right arm, "What this?"

"Some of the last dosage for the cure," Chris answered as he slid the needle into Wyatt's arm, "It should flush the last of the disease from your body. Later today, we'll run a blood test on you, to see if your antibody count went down, if so, you can go home tomorrow, if not, then another round will be ordered."

"Well, I'm not getting any worse."

"To our knowledge," Chris murmured, "This cure is experimental, we don't know all the flaws yet. But, it's the best shot we got,"

Wyatt hummed as he watched as his brother slid the syringe out of his arm. He twisted and placed it on the tray before grabbing another one with another vile. This time, Chris half-filled a syringe with clear liquid. Scrubbing another area clean, Chris injected the medicine into his brother. "Alright, that should be it. Now, there's been cases of trouble breathing with this medication, so if you start experiencing shortness of breath, don't be a fucking hero and page me please."

"Chris, are you okay?" Wyatt inquired.

Chris nodded, "Just tired, and please, page if something happens. Now, excuse me, I have other patients to treat."

Wyatt opened his mouth but shut it as he watched Chris leave without another word. He knew something was wrong his brother, and he couldn't help but flashback to times where Chris was a teenager, battling the same disease. Groaning, Wyatt kneaded his forehead. If this didn't kill him, Chris was going to.

That or make him go prematurely gray.

* * *

"Fuck the PPE!" Chris shouted and he ran into the room, his brother gasping for breath, "Wy, calm down, please."

Reaching over, he grabbed an oxygen mask and placed it on his brother, "Deep breaths." Looking up at a nurse, protective gear covering her body, "Open it fully."

"Yes Doctor,"

Sighing, Chris placed the stethoscope onto his brother's chest, "Deep breaths Wy."

Closing his eyes, Chris listened to his breathing. "I need a chest X-ray," Chris request, "I'll stay here and watch him."

"But sure, PPE."

"I'm already exposed," Chris remarked, "I can't leave this room even if I wanted to, now go."

The nurse nodded and skittered away. Frowning, Chris sank into the stool that was beside his brother's bed. "Hey,"

Chris looked up and forced a smile, "You shouldn't exactly be speaking Wy,"

Wyatt chuckled, "Yes…Mr. Doctor."

Chris laughed softly and reached to grasp his brother's hand, "Let's just hope that this doctor can save you."

A small squeeze was all Chris needed.

* * *

Holding up the X-ray, Chris frowned, "There's a small amount of fluid in the right lung. We need to watch it, if it gets too bad, we'll have to drain it. But I rather not do that until the disease is flushed from his system."

The nurse nodded and took the x-ray from the doctor before quickly departing, obviously not happy to be in the contaminated environment. Rolling his eyes, Chris ventured over and poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher and reached into his pocket. "What are those?" rasped Wyatt, his blue eyes half-lidded.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Chris greeted, "And they're part of my chemotherapy," he explained before throwing them in his mouth and taking a drink of water.

Wyatt glanced down, "If I never…found out…would you have-"

"No," Chris replied, finishing his water, "I planned on keeping it a secret, but of course, you had to go and screw that up," he said with a small smile.

"Why?"

Chris sighed and sat on the stool that was still next to Wyatt's bed, "I didn't want to see the looks anymore. Pity. Scared. Haunting. It was as if they expected me to drop down and die in front of them. And Mom and Dad…they're in New York, enjoying retirement, I just couldn't-," Chris sighed and rested his forehead on the bed beside his brother's head, "I never thought it would come back. I was supposed to be done with it."

Wyatt frowned and ran a hand through his brother's hair, wincing as numerous strands fell to the white sheet. Hearing a soft snore, Wyatt peered at his brother and chuckled when he noticed his brother had fallen asleep. Leaning back, Wyatt closed his eyes.

"Sleep well little brother,"

* * *

Chris let out a breath of relief as he took off the oxygen mask from his brother's face. Its been three days since the breathing attack. Quickly, using his stethoscope, he instructed Wyatt to take a few deep breaths, "Alright, everything sounds good, but you probably be coughing for a few days, you still have some liquid in your right lung."

Wyatt nodded, "Sounds like fun,"

Chris chuckled, "Just take some of that Mucinex that's in the medicine cabinet, it should loosen it up so it easier and quicker."

"Yeah, yeah, Doctor."

Chris rolled his eyes, "You'll be released tomorrow, and be prescribed a series of three medication. It will make sure the disease doesn't relapse. However, in good news, since you've been treated, you are hereby vaccinated. You can't get the disease again, well, you probably could, but it's unlikely,"

Wyatt raised an eyebrow, "Anything else doctor?"

"Yeah, pick up some milk on your way home. Now, I need to go shower, and finish looking after some other patients."

"Hey Chris,"

"Yeah?"

"Does anybody else here have this?"

Chris nodded, "But they've been relocated to the second floor, in a larger quarantined area. Where do you think I've spent all of my time for the past few days?"

"Uh, the ER?"

Chris laughed, "I wish. Now, rest and when you wake up tomorrow, Sara should be here to take you home."

Wyatt nodded, "Thanks Chris, you know, for everything,"

Chris smiled as he opened the door, "No problem Wy, it's my job. Night."

"Night."

* * *

Chris sat in the shower, lukewarm water cascading down his lithe body. His face was tilted-up, his eyes closed as he took deep breaths. Opening them, Chris let the tears fall from the green irises. Suddenly, he turned and vomited, the yellow and green chunks swirling around before falling into the drain.

Holding up a hand, he watched as the appendage shook, his body barely having enough strength to hold it up.

"Chris, you okay?"

Chris's head snapped to the door, "Yeah, I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Okay. I'll start the car for you, and hurry up! Grace will have our asses if we're late." Bianca shouted back.

Chris nodded although he knew Bianca would see it, and grabbed the towel rack in the shower. Using it, he pulled himself up and forced himself to stand. His eyes closed again, and part of him wished, that they wouldn't open again.

* * *

Wyatt leaned back, his eyes looking at the dull, black roof of his squad car. "Well, this is a boring first day back,"

Mark chuckled, "We could always go visit Chrissie. See what the Firestarter has to eat."

Wyatt snorted, "Knowing him, nothing. He always counts on us for lunch and breakfast."

"But you have to admit, when he's home, he know how to make some good pancakes," Mark retorted, "Just like how Piper used to make, damn it, now I'm hungry,"

Rolling his eyes, he looked at the dashboard clock, "Besides, it's only ten till 8, he wouldn't even be there yet."

Wyatt sighed when he heard a faint buzz, his cellphone vibrating in the cupholder. "Bianca…" he whispered, confused, "Hello?"

"Wyatt! Oh God,"

Wyatt blinked, "Bee, calm down, what's wrong?"

"It's Chris. He was…Oh God, he was getting ready for work when I heard a bang. I rushed up and I found him passed out on the floor, he wasn't responding, and…and…then, when he fell, he got a gash on his head and it just wouldn't stop bleeding."

Wyatt's eyes grew wide and his chest became tight, "Is he at the hospital?"

"Yes, oh, please come Wyatt, Sara's already here and your parents are on the way," Bianca said, "Just hurry."

Wyatt nodded and hung up. "Wyatt?"

The blond officer looked at his best friend in shock, "Chris is in the hospital."


	5. Chapter 5

Wyatt rushed into the triage center and bolted straight for the nurse's desk. "Chris Halliwell…"

"He's up on second floor," Grace replied with a small frown, "Your family is already there."

Wyatt nodded and sprinted up the stairs, Mark on his heels as the officers took them two at a time. "Mom," he breathed as the woman embraced him tightly, "Where is he?"

"He's in quarantine," She replied, wiping her eyes.

Wyatt looked at his mother with wide eyes, "Quarantine, why?"

"They think they have that disease that you had," sniffled Piper, "Uh, what was it called…"

"MA6277," Leo answered, walking up to wrap an arm around his wife's shoulder, "They're not positive quite yet, but they're already starting him on the medication."

Wyatt ran a hand through his hair, "Where is he? Can I see him?"

"He's in quarantine Wyatt,"

"Yeah, but he said that I couldn't get it again," Wyatt explained, "So, I can go in, right? Where's the doctor,"

"She's over here,"

Wyatt turned and smiled at his brother's doctor – it obviously strained on his face, "Elizabeth, you're treating my brother."

"Yes, as much as I don't want to, but Chris and I are the only ones who have been trained using the medications and the disease. Also, yes, since you have had the disease, I guess I can warrant you seeing your brother since I'm sure even if I said no, you'll weasel your way in there. I will require you to wear gloves however, just to be safe."

Wyatt nodded and took of his belt and gave it to Mark before marching over to the room. Elizabeth sighed, "I'm warning you now, he's in stable condition but weak. His leukemia-"

"Have you told my parents about the cancer?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "He is over 18, I don't have to disclose information, plus he told me not to."

"And you listened to him?"

Elizabeth sighed, "Chris and I might not get along, but he is a patient and I will respect his wish although I don't agree with it."

Wyatt frowned, "So, what's his status?"

"His leukemia is still in the first stage, but it's on the cusp of going into the second stage. Furthermore, the chemotherapy he is on as killed his immune system, which isn't helping the MA6277."

Wyatt blinked, "So, basically, not good?"

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, not good at all."

* * *

Wyatt forced a smile on his face when his brother's dull green eyes slid over to him. "Hey," he breathed softly, his breath fogging up the oxygen mask.

Sitting down in the chair beside the bed, Wyatt gently took his brother's hand into his, "Hey, how you feeling?"

Chris chuckled, "I'm in the hospital Wy, how do you think I'm feeling?"

Wyatt smiled softly, "True. So, you just had to trump last time? Add a disease this time?"

"I thought I would make my death memorable."

Wyatt looked at his brother with wide eyes, "You're not going to die Chris, you can't!"

Chris smiled and looked up at the ceiling, "It's a funny thing being a doctor in the hospital..."

Wyatt frowned and tightened his grasp, "Chris-"

"You walk in, and you automatically know your chances of walking out,"

"Chris, please-"

"And my chances are slim," he whispered, closing his eyes.

* * *

Wyatt rubbed his brother's hand, the brunette sleeping. The hand within his was pale and clammy. Wyatt couldn't help but notice the few small bruises running up and down his brother's arms, along with his shallow breathing that he couldn't help but hear. Gnawing on his lower lip, Wyatt sighed deeply.

He jumped when his brother turned his head and coughed. Smoothing back Chris's bangs, Wyatt attempted to sooth him. More coughs came from the short man and Wyatt gasped when blood splattered against the oxygen mask.

"Shit!" cursed the officer as he slammed the call button, "Shh, Chris, breath, please, just breath."

Wyatt was shoved out of the way when Elizabeth ran to his brother's bedside, along with two nurses. "Take the mask off!" shouted the doctor.

A young, red-head nurse nodded and did as she was told and quickly moved out of the way when Elizabeth came to stand at the head of the bed. "I need suction," she ordered.

Soon a small tube was inserted into Chris's mouth, blood were being vacuumed. "We need to tube him," Elizabeth stated.

"What? Why?" Wyatt asked, his eyes wide.

"MA6277 make the lungs and blood vessels weak, add the leukemia and one small puncture equals massive bleeding because no palettes," Elizabeth quickly explained as he inserted the breathing tube into Chris's throat, "Get a bag of O neg. He lost a lot of blood. Also, get me a chest x-ray, I want to see how much fluid is in his lungs."

Wyatt stood, his eyes wide as his brother had a tube in his mouth and unconscious and his mother outside screaming and demanding answers. Elizabeth sighed and took off her gloves, "Abby, I want a constant watch on his heartbeat and blood count. Blood test every thirty minutes. We need to watch for any more blood leaks within the body. Keep some O neg aside in case. I can see that he will probably need it. Also, get some palettes into him. He needs to clot."

"Wait, Liz," Wyatt said, grabbing the doctor's wrist as she was heading out, "What does this mean for Chris?"

Elizabeth sighed and looked at her co-worker, "I would make arrangements."

* * *

"Wyatt! What's going on!" Piper demanded, "What is going on?"

Wyatt looked at his mother numbly, "He…uh…started to-"

"I'll explain Wyatt," Elizabeth interrupted as she walked out of the room, "Your son's lungs and blood vessels have deteriorated due to the disease in his system, this causes one to of the vessel walls to split and cause blood to go into his lungs. This cut of his air supply and his body started to cough it up. We had to put a tube into his throat to keep his airway clear, but this will be moot point if his lungs fill up so we're getting a chest x-ray to see how much liquid, if need be, we'll have to perform a small surgery to release the fluid."

Piper blinked, "Meaning…"

Wyatt sighed and took his mother's hands into her own, "Mom, there's something else."

"What?"

Glancing at Bianca, Wyatt frowned. The nurse was hiccupping, Sara cradling her close even though she wasn't much better. "Mom, Chris's leukemia is back."

"What?" Piper shouted, "When?"

"He found out a few weeks ago," Wyatt explained, his mother falling into sobs with Leo being the only thing keeping her standing.

Elizabeth coughed into her hands, "Excuse me, I understand that Chris didn't disclosure his other condition but because of it, the disease is-"

"Processing through his body faster," Leo interrupted, "The chemo would've killed his immune system."

Elizabeth nodded, "Exactly, that's why Chris's situation was so dire."

Bianca sniffled, "What are his chances?"

"I'll tell you the same as I told Wyatt," Elizabeth sighed, "I would make some arrangements."


	6. Chapter 6

Wyatt held his brother's hand tightly, the man breathing deeply through the tube in his throat. The man was sleeping, or that was what Wyatt was telling himself. Chris was abnormally pale and his heartbeat was slow, but still strong. Constant blood was flowing into Chris's body, attempting to bide the time so they could find a way to keep him alive with such a weak immune system and two diseases warring through his body.

Frowning, Wyatt laid his head on his brother's bed. He was still in his uniform, refusing to go home. He was the only one allowed in the room, and he was going to be damn sure that his brother wasn't alone. Chris was there when he was sick, now it was time to repay the favor.

A soft whimper made Wyatt look up. "Chris?"

Slowly, tired sage green eyes looked at him, " _Wy?"_

Wyatt smirked, " _Yeah. Who else would it be?"_

 _"Don't have my glasses on,"_ came the faint answer, " _This tube in my throat sucks."_

" _I can get them, tell you're awake,"_

_"No, they put it in for a reason; I'm surprised I'm awake. The sleep meds must've worn off or lapse in dosage."_

_"Sleeping medicine?"_

_"To keep me asleep. For the tube and to probably help keep my body calm."_

_"Well, if it's helping maybe you should go back to sleep,"_

Chris sighed and closed his eyes, " _I think it might be too late for help."_

 _"Chris?"_  Wyatt squeezed his brother's hand.

No answer.

" _Chris?"_

Wyatt frowned and held his brother's hand tightly. Chris would beat this, he had too.

* * *

"How is he doing?"

Elizabeth glanced at the tired blond officer, her fingers pressed to Chris's wrist, "He's alive,"

"But,"

Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her eyes, "His blood count is tremendously high, and by our counts, his leukemia has slipped into the second stage. MA6277 is destroying his blood cells even more, which is making his leukemia progress and gives way for the MA6277 to go through his body faster. So far, no blood has gotten into his lungs, but we're watching it."

"Anything else?"

"…We have evidence that he might be slipping into a coma."

"Coma?"

Elizabeth nodded, a small frown on her face.

Wyatt sighed and lowered his head back onto the bed. Elizabeth frowned and slipped out of the room, the woman not having the heart to suggest a shower or food to the stressed man.

* * *

Wyatt's head snapped up when he felt the hand in his twitch. "Chris…Chris!"

He stood with his eyes wide as he watched his brother convulse on the bed. Reaching over, he pressed the page button and alarms began going off. Elizabeth rushed in along with the two nurses that help her the last time. They pinned Chris to the bed and held his head. Soon, the seizure stopped and Elizabeth quickly started taking Chris's vitals, which were plummeting.

"What's happening?" Wyatt demanded.

"His brain might be inflamed from the disease damaging the veins," Elizabeth muttered, "Which is causing pressure upon the brain causing seizures."

"Meaning…"

"I need to take him to get an MRI," Elizabeth stated, "But he's in quarantine, damn it!"

Wyatt frowned, "What's gonna happen?"

Elizabeth growled, "Screw it. The disease is already in this hospital, I'm taking him to get an MRI," she frowned, "You better get better Halliwell, you owe me."

* * *

When Chris returned from the MRI he was attached to ventilator and attached to a brain monitor. Wyatt looked at Elizabeth with wide eyes, "What happened?"

"He had another seizure in the MRI," explained the doctor, "his breathing has decreased to the point that he needs help. We've attached him to a monitor that will watch his brain activity. We believe that he might be slipping into a coma."

"And if that happens?"

Elizabeth sighed, "I'm gonna let your family come in, I believe they should be here."

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"Wyatt," Elizabeth frowned, "I believe in the future your family is going to have to make a difficult decision."

"And? What is it?"

"Whether to pull the plug or not. And knowing Chris, he wouldn't want to suffer."

* * *

Piper sniffled as she ran her hand through Chris's hair. The soft whoosh of the ventilator was the only sound in the room. Once Chris's condition turned worse, Piper called her sisters and told them of the news. They would be in the morning, but the way that Chris's condition was plummeting, she just hoped that Paige and Phoebe would be here in time before anything drastic happened.

Leaning down, she pecked her son's forehead. On the other side, Wyatt was on his constant vigilance with his brother's hand within his own. Bianca was sitting beside Chris's feet, her hand resting on his shin, and Sara was standing behind her boyfriend, a comforting hand on Wyatt's shoulder. Leo was behind Piper, his eyes never leaving his son. Mark was on Wyatt's other side, with a hand on the blond's shoulder.

Piper sniffled as tears welled up in her eyes. Her son was on a breathing machine, on the cusp of a coma and two diseases in body. Lifting his hand, she kissed the back of it and wished to see her baby wake up.

* * *

Elizabeth frowned as she looked at the print-out from the monitor, a frown on her face. Leaning over Chris's body, he flashed a light into Chris's eyes, wary of the eyes on her. She grabbed her co-worker's wrist and mentally counted his pulse.

Sighing, she lowered the arm and looked at the Halliwells. Piper was cradled in Leo's arms, while Wyatt stood by them, his hands shaking. Mark had an arm wrapped around Bianca, while Sara stood beside Wyatt.

Elizabeth ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair, "Based on his brain function and vitals, I can say that Chris has slipped into a coma."

"And his breathing?" Leo asked, pulling his sobbing wife closer.

"Dependent on the machine."

"And his chances?"

Elizabeth merely shook her head and winced when the Halliwell family fell to tears.

* * *

Three days have passed, and Chris only grew worse. His heart has weakened, the disease wreaking havoc on other parts of his body. Elizabeth has approached them time and time again about pulling the plug and letting nature take its course.

Surrounding the bed, the Charmed Ones stood, the two sisters wrapped around the oldest in this time of pain. Leo stood by his eldest son, the blond holding his brother's hand with tears streaming down his face. Leo licked his lips and tried to hold back his own tears. He could hear Phoebe's twins – Payton and Prudence – sobbing quietly behind him. Paige's daughters – Helen, Patty and Samantha – were huddled together, crying.

Mark, with his father Derek, were at the foot of the bed, tears in their own eyes. Elizabeth frowned and glanced up at Leo, the blond man nodding briefly.

A small flick and the whoosh ended.

Soon after, a loud ring entered the room before Elizabeth turned that off as well. The sobs increased, and Wyatt broke down, sinking to the floor onto his knees, clutching his brother's hand tightly.

Wordlessly, Elizabeth detached the tube from the one in Chris's throat before whispering, "Time of Death : 13:19."


End file.
